Halford sales take a hit

The group, which has 462 stores in the UK and Ireland, reported a 2.1 per cent drop in retail like-for-like sales in the first quarter of its financial year, a period covering the 13 weeks to July 2.

Halfords said it had been a sluggish start to the spring season due to poor weather in April and consumer nervousness ahead of the General Election and emergency Budget.

This was followed by the World Cup in June, which meant the company delayed the start of its summer promotional campaign.

Its core categories of car maintenance and cycling maintained like-for-like growth despite some supplier delivery disruption.